"Anyone who actually works in the business of producing new technology, especially hardware technology, will know that these things are never managed," Neil Thompson, the general manager for Xbox in the UK and Ireland, told Eurogamer sister site GamesIndustry.biz.

"Everyone else loves to think that they're managed, but they will know it's not. It's a function of coming to market with a brand new innovation and you have to scale up."

Thompson's comments back up those from Don Mattrick, Microsoft's president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, who insisted last month that anyone who wanted to buy a Kinect in time for Christmas should have placed an order by the end of that week or risk disappointment.

Mattrick claimed he wasn't just cynically trying to spike sales with his prediction. Thompson explained why.

"The choices you always have are: do we launch in November or do we wait until February, March when we could hit some bigger launch numbers but then we miss Christmas," he said.

"So you're always in this fine balance, saying 'well, we want to give people the product as soon as we can, but you can't switch on the manufacturing like water.' It takes time to scale.

"It's absolutely not a strategy, we want to get the product into consumers' hands as quickly as we can because we think it's exciting, it's innovative. We wanted to do that for Christmas and that's what we've done. We've built a really strong supply and resupply chain over the coming weeks."

In the case of Kinnect, it's dumb to think shortages are on purpose. Their initial projections were for 3 million sales by the end of the year. Then they bumped up projections (to 5 million) and production. And it's looking it it could exceed even those higher projections. And it was one of the biggest launches in history. How does this appear to anyone like a manufactured shortage?

Microsoft would only be hurting themselves if they manufactured a shortage. If they predict 5 million sales by the end of the year, which is huge, then causing a fake shortage to increase demand would only hurt their public estimate.

No, this shortage is the real deal. Tons of Kinect's are being produced and they are selling like hotcakes. They hit the nail on the head with this one.

Author of science fiction and other genres, I write under the pen name Desmond Shepherd. The second season of my series The Permanent Man premieres on November 11, 2014. Pre-order the season premiere The Walls Have Ears on Amazon today!

It makes sense. In a very fair way. Im also pleased that afaik they haven't compared their sales with Sony's in this sensitive early launch period. They have just done their own thing so far it is good PR and just good clean ethical behaviour.

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It makes sense. In a very fair way. Im also pleased that afaik they haven't compared their sales with Sony's in this sensitive early launch period. They have just done their own thing so far it is good PR and just good clean ethical behaviour.

Yeah, it's funny though. It just strikes of fear when you compare to the other product (yes this goes for all 3, MS do it with 360) but they don't even need to mention move, it's steamrollering.

It makes sense. In a very fair way. Im also pleased that afaik they haven't compared their sales with Sony's in this sensitive early launch period. They have just done their own thing so far it is good PR and just good clean ethical behaviour.

Yeah, it's funny though. It just strikes of fear when you compare to the other product (yes this goes for all 3, MS do it with 360) but they don't even need to mention move, it's steamrollering.

Pretty much exactly right about stinking of fear. They are the champions of their own products and it is up to the end user to decide which best meets their needs. They don't need that kind of help from a PR representative. It isn't a sports game either, two or more sides can end up winners as easily as there being no clear winners.

Well, M$ has CONFIRMED 2.5 million to consumers, and VGC is estimating 4 million...I doubt they engineered a shortage...what exactly are we comparing this to? What other device launches and does these kinds of numbers in this timeframe and DOESN'T experience some level of shortages through the nature supply and demand flows...people need to give it a rest. Kinect is simply HOT, and people want it...

"...You can't kill ideas with a sword, and you can't sink belief structures with a broadside. You defeat them by making them change..."